The Wonders of Ancient Mesopotamia

Past Event: 4 May 2012 to 7 October 2012

An exhibition of stunning artefacts from one of the world's great ancient civilisations.

The Wonders of Ancient Mesopotamia, will explore an era of extraordinary invention and innovation, the impact of which is still shaping our lives thousands of years later.

It will feature over 170 artefacts from the world famous Middle East collection of The British Museum. From massive carved stone reliefs depicting scenes of battles and hunting to stunning gold jewellery.

This exhibition focuses on three of the great centres of ancient civilisation – Sumer, Assyria and Babylon – bringing their rich history to life through objects and multimedia.

Themes in the exhibition include palaces and royal power, religious beliefs and rituals, burial practices and royal tombs, and the myths and legends that surround ancient Mesopotamia.

Comments (170)

@Mark
Just so that you know, if Le Louvre is free for under the age of 18 and cheap for over the age of 18, it is because it is funded by the French Government therefore by the French tax payers ;)

Rose
16 November, 2011 12:59

As The British Museum is involved with this one it should be better than the King Tut display. My feeling after seeing that display was that I would never go to another display at the Melbourne Museum. You really need to be honest this time. Also I hope you do not use Ticketek booking as if the price of entry is not expensive enough, Ticketek charge in addition to the entry price, a few dollars more for us to print the entry ticket on our home computers. That is disgraceful and dishonest.

I loved the Tutenkamun exhibition. I wonder if in our consumer society, some people who were disappointed can no longer appreciate quality unless it's also accompanied by quantity? How many priceless artefacts do you need to see? I too had read up well beforehand, including a book (from my local library) aimed at the general public, showing how the tomb was uncovered, including photos of tomb contents etc. I was pleased to see some of these items there. I loved the fact that this exhibition showed the context of Tutenkamun's life and treasures, with objects owned by his grandparents etc. Thanks Melbourne Museum staff. I'm looking forward to seeing the Mesopotamia exhibition and have thorougly enjoyed the fabulous public lectures that you've held about it.

ellen emery
1 November, 2012 10:05

thats great lol

Karen Wykes
16 November, 2011 13:28

This looks like it is going to be another great exhibition. I look foward to it.

Yes, I have been there and it was fabulous. But I had a better time with the Tutankham. Maybe it was because I like Ancient Egypt better.

Tamara
16 November, 2011 17:36

We were so terribly disappointed with the Tut display. It was a huge deal for us to come and bring all the children, and we had done alot of reading up and preparation before we visited. So little of what was shown actually came from Tut's tomb. It would have been better entitled : Treasures of the Pyramids. The artifacts were stunning but title of the display was very misleading, and the cost was very steep, for what it was. I was also disgusted at the ues of Ticketek and the extra they charge for the privilege of printing my own tickets.
Come on Museum Vic - if you want members, treat us with some respect, please.

The Tut exhibition was nothing short of a fantastic miracle!!
Imagine watching so closely such glorious artifacts and displays in the vicinity of your own backyard. Well done; you guys do a great job. As for the Wingers, surely they have not left our shores before and travelled to third world countries to veiw what you had to offer here in Melbourne. The hard work and the logistics behind it is much appreciated. We are truly a lucky country!

Will be great if it's even half as good as the Tut display. Only bad thing is that these great displays end up in Melbourne and not Sydney. Still, easier to travel to Melbourne than Egypt, so can't complain. As for complaining, I can only assume those who weren't satisfied with Tut are not that into Ancient Egypt and would have been better off at the Queen Victoria markets looking for cheap trinkets to adorn their Balinese huts.

I can't wait to see the 'Wonders of Ancient Mesopotamia'. I thoroughly enjoyed the King Tut exhibition as well as the Titanic one the year before. Such a lot of hard work went into them. Anyway, I now have an excuse to come down to Melbourne for a couple of days.

I thought that the King Tut exhibition was good. The dispay of information at two levels was a good idea. However, I thought that the entry price was a bit high and I was disappointed that the concession price did not apply to Senior Card holders. I agree with others about the rip-off by Ticketek for the privilege of printing a ticket on my own printer

Having seen the Cairo Museum late last year, I thought the Tut display was well done. And for all you whingers there WERE priceless and special artefacts from Tut's tomb. He wasn't the only pharaoh and a minor one at that. The other stuff that came with the exhibition was lovely too. Be grateful you got to see it. Don't like your chances of a peaceful visit to Egypt any time soon.

Hi folks, Great to read about the excitement people have for The Wonders of Ancient Mesopotamia exhibition. We've listened to your feedback and learned lots from the Tutankhamun exhibition. For Mesopotamia things will be different. We'll be doing our own ticketing, the tickets will cost less, and the session times will be less crowded. For more information keep an eye out on this page, or join us on Facebook and Twitter for up to date information.

Thanks to MuseumVictoria for presenting two great exhibitions in Titanic and Tut - looking forward to the next one. Great that you've taken consideration of the feedback and will improve the process and price.

As an Assyrian, I can't wait to see my heritage and the treasurers from the land of my forefathers. I still remember the excitement from the last time that Melbourne welcomed the exhibition of ancient Assyria. I hope this time the exhibition could off a wider range of the treasure in which Assyria has to offer. I hope this could be a reminder to Australians and the rest of the world that Assyrians to date live in Mesopotamia (Bet -Nahrain) or the land between the two rivers, but unfortunately suffer from prosecution and genocides. Hope to witness everlasting peace in that corner of the world.

I have to agree with Chris. I was in Egypt late last year too. The Cairo Museum is massive beyond belief. Melbourne Museum's King Tut exhibition provided an excellent and encompassing experience that gave visitors a summary of what you'd see in Cairo. Plus, the Melbourne experience gave visitors an environment which was not overcrowded by thousands of pushy visitors. I agree with the point about King Tut too. The only reason why he is so famous is because he was very young and died of suspicious circumstances. If you really want to experience Ancient Egypt, you need to look beyond King Tut's tomb. Get an education on King Ramses II or Queen Hatshepsut who announced herself as a Pharaoh after her husband died (becoming the first female Pharoah). The exhibition in Melbourne was marketed with the angle of King Tut because that's the Pharoah many people in the Western world want to focus on. If you want the complete King Tut experience, then you really need to go to Egypt, go and see all of his treasures in the Cairo Museum then travel via overnight train to his tomb in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor. If you're relying on one exhibition to give you the full King Tut experience then you're going about it the wrong way unfortunately. On a brighter note, I can't wait for The Wonders of Ancient Mesopotamia!

I have been to the last 3 exhibitions in a row (and a couple beforehand)and I believe they get better and better. Thank you for bringing these treasures to our shores, they certainly fuel the travel bug in me and I appreciate the effort of all staff involved. I saw Tut 3 times with various visitors coming to stay over from interstate.
I am happy that feedback has returned the ticketting function to the Museum and costs will be more reasonable.
I look forward to next May and the new exhibition.

YES! Assyrian exhibition, we brought the world into the light. Its good to finally be recognised. As a Assyrian Australian i will prob never see my parents home land Iraq (Assyria) so thank you Australian Museum. Please lets not forgett the current Assyrians loosing their lives in Iraq, for being Christians. Merry christmas to all god bless.

Great to see so many good things about Tut, I have to agree! Though also sad to see so many negative comments about Tut... if you research like most people do you will actually see what the exhibition was about. Museum did a great job of hosting the exhibition though they were only the ones renting out the space, with AEI and IMG the ones who actually toured the exhibition. It is hard to please everyone so the exhibition was quite general to suit many different audiences. It was a great achievement for Melbourne to have these artifacts and many years hard work to make it happen. I doubt we will see another exhibition like it.
I look forward to Mesopotamia, though it will have a very different vibe from Tut as it is Museum run this time.

Saw both Titanic and Tut, and greatly enjoyed both. Although I did encounter a few negatives with each exhibition, they were mainly a result of the enormous numbers of visitors that had to be catered for. Given the huge popularity of the events, I think MV did a pretty good job, and the quality of the objects on display was fantastic. I'm really looking forward to seeing the new exhibition!

I have enjoyed previous exhibitions although the Ancient Egyptian lacked in information. There appeared to be just rooms with antiquities then another room of antiquities. It would have been great if more information was given to link Ancient Egypt to contemporary times i.e. Akhenaten being the first in ancient history to establish a monotheistic religion which predates Zoroastrianism and Judaism. I hope that the Mesopotamia exhibition emphasizes the importance of Mesopotamian culture which extends to modern day such as agriculture, language, cities, religion, and government, mathematics, writing, literature, architecture, warfare, empire and astrology!

As I retired in 2007 I have had the pleasure of seeing all three of the temporary overseas exhibitions. However I am surprised that Pompeii hasn’t been mentioned in recent correspondence, as to my mind it was a stunning event and the standout of the three, though I certainly enjoyed them all and look forward to Mesopotamia.
I also took the opportunity last October to do the Royal Exhibition Building tour. Don’t think I’d been inside it since I sat matriculation exams way back in 1959 and I don’t recall taking too much notice of the surroundings on those occasions! Quite the best value $5.00 I’ve spent in a long time. What a magnificent building it is and thank God it’s World Heritage Listed.

After seeing all the fabulous past exhibitions, I'm very excited for this one!
Melbourne Museum should be commended for bringing such amazing exhibitions! Pompeii, Titanic, Tutankhamen and now Mesopotamia!
Thank you!

Thanks to Mr Layard for shipping all he could find to England in 1800s for us to see now, what he couldn't take or couldn't find at the time,is being damaged by the local new inhabitants. Will enjoy it, thank you Melbourne Museum.

I am looking forward to this exhibit, although I feel some of the same apprehensions as the so-called "whingers" who were disappointed with the Tut-Ankh-Amun exhibit.
I had seen the treasures of Tut-Ankh-Amun in their home in Cairo in 2008. I was nonetheless excited to see them again when they arrived here. I understood the dangers of transporting certain pieces of the collection and did not expect to be as overwhelmed as I was in the Egyptian Museum, but did not expect to be as underwhelmed as I was.
The vast majority of the artefacts on display were mediocre and in multiples. In particular, there was no need for the sheer number of shabtis and ankhs (Tut was buried with hundreds of them) and especially not in separate cases or display rooms with the very same descriptions.
The pottery and furniture was beautiful, but certainly some of the least spectacular. The only exceptional pieces were the alabaster perfume vessel in the form of a bull, and the larger set of canopic jars.
The descriptions (and I comment as someone who studies ancient history) barely offered explanation as to the significance of each item, whether about who it belonged to what it's real purpose was (practical and symbolic).
The most precious item on display I felt was the relief of Akhenaten and Nefertiti worshipping Aten, but I was disappointed to see that it also lacked the information that would have made it truly stand out. Many people simply walked past it after a quick glance (heartbreaking).
I wish the rest of the exhibition had been as informative as the initial presentation about the discovery of the tomb, and the explanation of the mummification ritual. I'm sure then people would have appreciated what was there much, much more (when I left, there were many people in the makeshift shop outside expressing their disappointment to one another, especially the children and teens).
I sincerely hope this coming exhibit will make up for the Tut-Ankh-Amun one. I am pleased to hear that you've taken visitor's feedback into account and I still have a lot of faith in the museum.
See you in May.

I have to agree with some of the nagative comments, however we enjoyed the tut exhibition because we went in with very low expectations knowing how the melbourne museum exhibitions are generally particularly the china terracota soldiers which were incredibly disapointing (everything was faux!!!! why bother then).

Being a descendant of the Sumerians, Akkadians, Assyrians and Babylonians, I am greatly anticipating the arrival of these artifacts as I will have a chance to immerse myself in my culture. I encourage everyone to come along, our history is fascinating to say the least and is well worth the trip.

Really excited for this exhibition, will definitely come down from Sydney to see it. Some amazing history was created in the land between the two rivers, where some of the most astonishing civilizations were birthed. The Sumerians are believed by many scholars to be the cradle of civilization and came up with one of the greatest inventions of all time which is writing, the Assyrians who were well known for their brutal battle tactics and amazing history and discoveries. Then you have my favourite, the Babylonians who built one of the greatest cities in history, including one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. Been Chaldean myself, I’m really excited for this exhibition and I'm glad our history is getting displayed around the world and getting some attention, so well done to the organisers.

I am tempted to berate those who are writing such negative comments, particularl regarding the Tut exhibition, however I will resist. What I would like to say is simply.....thankyou. I doubt that will ever be able to see those treasures in their home environment so I really appreciate being able to see them here in my own home town. Looking forward now to the wonders of Ancient Mesopotamia.

Cant wait for this exhibit! Thank you Melb Museum for bringing us something of our Assyrian history. My family and I are Assyrian and there is no way we'd be able to go to the UK to see our country's artefacts and culture on display. Definitely looking forward to it and am telling all my Assyrian friends!!

I agree with Tamara way back in November 2011. The King Tut exhibition, whilst a good display, was disappointing in my mind with only a few items from his tomb out of the thousands of items found there. But, saying that, I thank the Melbourne Museum administration for bringing these exhibitions to Victoria for those people who are not able to travel overseas.

Thanks to Museum Victoria for bringing this exhibition to Melbourne.
This is a great opportunity to display the Iraqi rich history, in Iraq there are around 10,000 historical sites across the country, as Mesopotamia is the land between the two rivers.
Sumer in the south, Babylon in the centre and Assyria in the north.
Theses treasures are for everyone to see and admire the land who gave so many inventions to the world.

I live 2000km away and have seen the last 3 amazing exhibits at the Museum. I will again travel down for the next exhibit. Such a lot of work goes into these exhibits. Can't understand why some people are critical. Well done.

I understand the reasons why some people were disappointed with the Tut exhibit. The only issue was the very big crowd. I guess that is just a part of viewing such a magnificent exhibit. The Titanic was the same, a lot of people, however brilliant. I take my children and they learn a lot about history and about the story of life and death. I am looking forward to the next exhibit.

The Wonders of Ancient Mesopotamia, Tutankhamun,The Titanic, Pompeii,.. I loved them all.. please keep bringing this type and quality of exhibition to Australia. Such exhibitions are an absolute wonderland to visit and looked forward to for months.
Thank you also to the people at the Museum who are choosing these exhibitions as I really appreciate the opportunity to experience these fantastic exhibitions.

We are Sydneysiders and flew down in Oct for King Tut (no aplogies!). We have booked to fly down on the 8th July for the Mesopotamia exhibit. We are staying 3 days. Not 10 minutes ago we received an email saying a "special night" for Members will happen on the 8th!!
WOW the Gods are with us!!

well, i loved the tutankhamun exhibition - it was SUCH a provocative and atmospheric experience - and i'm sure 'the wonders of ancient mesopotamia' will be awesome as well. and for those complaining about cost, try adding a return airfare from wagga wagga to melbourne to your total. from my perspective, it was worth every cent!

I cannot wait to see this exhibition! I live in Sydney and travelled all the way to Melbourne for my 21st birthday, but I really just wanted to see the Tut Exhibition. I thought I would never go to another exhibition after Sydney Art Gallery's "Terracotta Warrior" exhibition.
I was blown away by the whole Tut experience and hope that The Wonders of Ancient Mesopotamia will be just as great!

Have loved all the exhibitions, Pompeii, Titanic, Tut, Great Wall etc and my only feedback is from my 7 yr old son who loves History and science, could you have a little workbook or something like the treasure hunt and childrens room at the Great Wall of China exhibition. Make it easier for the younger visitors to understand what the importance of each exhibition and how it relates to the 21st century. Only wish History was a part of our Govt School curriculum!!
My feedback is if we can't take photo's please make sure there are postcards of some of the exhibition to be used in our SCRAPBOOKS!!

Brilliant! I am so very excited to see this exhibition come to Australia. I have been blessed to have already visited the British Museum but I'm so thrilled to get to share this experience with all my Assyrian friends and family here. Great work!

Hi there Liz, It’s great to hear that your 7 year old is interested in our Mesopotamia exhibition!

We are planning a suite of programs to help kids and families engage with the exhibition. Within the exhibition there will be signage aimed at engaging our younger audience with the content and there will also be some interactives on touch screens and a special kids version of the audio guide.

This is great!! well done Melbourne Museum, good opportunity for me as a Chaldean from Mesopotamia who still speaks at home the old language that was spoken by the people of Mesopotamia, to explore the history of my ancestors, much appreciated.

Excellent, another fantastic exhibition to look forward to. I've thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the last exhibitions: Pompeii, Titanic, King Tut. The information is so comprehensive and I always come away with a much better understanding of some part of the world and/or history as well as a thirst to learn more!

I'm looking forward to taking my son to this exhibition. We enjoyed the Titanic and Tutankhamun exhibitions, however I will not choose the 4.30pm time slot again (or the last one of the day) because I found that we felt rushed through the last part of the Tutankhamun exhibition where all his burial artefacts were and BEFORE 6pm closing (around 5.45pm) staff were already cleaning the cases that we were trying to look into. I didn't appreciate that.

I'm kinda floored that people would be complaining about the King Tut exhibition. I come from Sydney and now the Gold Coast. You are so spoilt in Melbourne to get the quality of and quanity of exhibitions you get. It cr*ps all over everywhere else in Australia. The King Tut exhibition in my view was awesome, so well designed to minimise crowding and maximise the information available and a really good overview of Egyption history and some amazing artifacts. I don't really care if they were King Tut's or not, it was all incredible!!! Thanks. Bring on Mesopotamia! I'm having a cultural tour, Biennale 2012 in Sydney, then Mesopotamia followed by MONA in Hobart! Can't wait!!!

Hi Frances, great to hear you are travelling from Adelaide to see Melbourne Museum's new exhibition “The Wonders of Ancient Mesopotamia” developed in partnership with the British Museum. Timed ticketing is still in place to help manage reduced hourly attendance levels and we are confident you will have a quality experience of this fantastic exhibition from beginning to end.

Attended the preview last night and was delighted by this fascinating insight into the civilisation of Ancient Mesopotamia and awed by how much direct influence this culture has had upon so many branches of modern day life and living. Art, science, literature, the law and government all demonstrate direct links to this civilisation today. However, what took my breath away was the exquisite detail of the huge stone relief carvings from ninth century Assyria. Whilst glorifying war and the victories of the Assyrians and the fearlessness of the king, nonetheless the minute details of pattern, texture and the overall design are truly magnificent. Talented museum staff have brought these carvings wonderfully to life by taking some scenes and animating them, the coloured figures leaping off large adjacent video screens and into our imaginations with such verve and clarity. Most impressive. Thank you.
Heather Heraud

I attended the preview of The Wonders of Mesopotamia last night - fantastic. The objects are accessible, keys into the many stories being told. Different to last year's Tut exhibition, Mesopotamia really offers an insight through the layers of information. There are some very family friendly features too, I think there's something here for everyone. I was very impressed and enjoyed it very much.

I attended the teacher preview of the Mesopotamia exhibition last night. It was absolutely fantastic. As well as a magnificent collection of artifacts I loved the use of technology and lighting, particularly the way the wall rock carvings were brought of life, plus the sheer variety in the way information was shared - really liked getting short video snippets from the British Museum director. It's all thoughfully and beautifully displayed. Don't miss it!!

I attended the official launch of the Mesopotamia exhibition tonight. As a visitor to the Tutankhamun exhibition last year I can say that this new exhibition delivers in spades and just goes to show the difference between a pre-packaged travelling exhibition and a well-researched and custom-built one. The work that the team at the Museum has put in is extraordinary at so many levels: the design, the presentation, the most excellent audio (and visual/textual) commentary, the information for kids, and oh! The battle scene and the ability to scroll and expand elements of the frieze, is just brilliant. Very satisfying and highly recommended.

I absolutely loved the King Tut / Egyptian exhibition which I saw last year on my birthday. I thought it was actually great to have such a range of amazing treasures and artefacts and not all from Tut's tomb. It gave me a great experience to remember when I soon after discovered I have cancer. Certainly looking forward to the Mesopotamia exhibition and hopefully many more in years to come! Well done to all those involved in the last exhibition.

Visited both the Tut and Titanic exhibitions. Both excellent. Rather than others commenting on the few items of Tut, I was actually rather surprised at the number and quality of those that were included from his tomb. The exhibition was all the better for including a wide variety of items that were discovered in other tombs and were Tut's relatives. My sister and I leisurely viewed everything, no crowds at the time of our visit, enabling us to get very close to all the display cabinets. The pieces on show were well presented and quite varied, a good selection to provide an overview of personal, secular and religious items. Enough items to observe and read about without getting a brain overload. Only negative comment from the King Tut exhibit was the high cost of the souvenir book ($65), and the rather 'tacky' souvenir items which were rather disappointing (we left without buying anything). Really looking forward to the Mesopotamia exhibition - WELL DONE Melbourne Museum for putting on such fantastic displays - well worth the effort to travel to Melbourne from Tasmania.

I am so looking forward to this one. I have been the British Museum and the collections there are truly magnificent. Not everybody has that opportunity, so this will be great for the locals. I'll be travelling to my home town of Melbourne from Sydney and will be sure to catch this exhibit.

Unfortunately I missed the Pompeii and Titanic exhibits but thoroughly enjoyed the Egyptian exhibit. I can't believe how negative some people can be regarding something that takes a phenomenal amount of organising and involves such delicate artifacts. I would never be able to get to Egypt to see them and found the exhibit fascinating.
I will definitely be attending the Mesopotamia exhibit at least once.

At the time we visited, 10am today, most people only spent an hour or so in this exhibition. While it was interesting, it was far from an "amazing' exhibition, and I am sure the BM has a far more exciting collection of Mesopatanian items it could have sent to Australia. Too many examples of the same thing, notabely the impression and roller seals, as beautiful as they may be. In the Nebuchanezzar section, one exhibit is described as having the inscription "Nebuchanezzar....B.C. This would have been impossible, as at that time, there was no B.C. or A.D.

went to the opening and could not believe what a fantastic exhibition it was - a real eye opener! Colourful and fascinating; a multimedia and sensory feast for the sense, mind and spirit!
I saw the curator from the British Museum being interviewed for a podcast. Is there somewhere we can hear it?

Looking forward to this Exhibition. Any and all things that get children discussing history and thinking about how things were done in different cultures and times is brilliant. While agreeing that the Tut exhibit was misleading in its title I was still blown away with the artifacts and the beauty of the craftmanship of the time. It was too dark, very crowded and a little confusing inside but it still stimulated a lot of discussion, research and ideas so I found it a great tool for education. There seems to be a lot of faith in the British Museum's association with this one, so will be looking forward to seeing this one.

This will be better than the Tut exhibition - i found that exhibition quite boring but thats because mostly the history presented is the blandest type of social history from an outsiders non-esoteric perspective and Tutankhamun is overblown in importance
With ancient mesopotamia it will be hard to avoid its rich mythology and sublime artworks as cultures like the Sumerians sits ethereally and mysteriously teetering at the edge of our modern myths of material civilisation that we take for granted

I am looking forward to the Mesopotamia exhibition. I have attended Pompeii, Titanic and Tutankhamun and thoroughly enjoyed all of them. To the people complaining about the Tut exhibit and saying that there wasn't much from his tomb. They cannot bring too many items from one particular exhibit from the Cairo museum as people who then go to Cairo don't get to see certain items (as happened to us). Some of the items are quite large and very delicate so it would be a risk to move them, therefore it is the smaller and perhaps more solid items that can be used in these exhibits. I went to the Tut exhibit a couple of times and with different people (including my grandchildren). For them it was a chance to see items that they had never thought to see, and they were not disappointed. My grandchildren, especially the boys loved seeing his dagger and crowns etc that were in the last room. My oldest grandson was 9 when we took him and when he realised that Tut was the same age as himself when he became Pharaoh it made the exhibition even more interesting. Keep up the good work Melb Museum!!!

Assyrians! the most powerful empire in ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA... CAN'T WAIT TO SEE my ancestor's original inscriptions carved by their hands, its incredible to believe. very proud to be routed from such a great ancient people and culture

What a wonderful exhibition! I have been to see it today and enjoyed it so much I went around it twice. I am already planning to return with my 11 year old sons as I'm sure they will enjoy it too. I won't take my 8 year old however as there is a lot of information to digest and I don't think it will hold his attention for long.
We have lived here since 2008 and have been to every winter exhibition so far. the children loved Pompeii and Titanic but were very disappointed with Tut for the reasons already talked about. I have since heard how many restrictions were imposed on the museum re layout, crowd numbers and display and I understand why Tut had a very different vibe to other events. Mesopotamia is a must and a welcome return to form. Excellent!!

I am very surprised by the negative comments regarding the Tutunkahmun exhibition. The governance of Egyptian antiquities is very strictly governed, and the fact that any artefacts were released AT ALL is a miracle in itself.
Very much looking forward to the Mesopotamia exhibition.

Just seen the exhibition Mesopotamia.... Fantastic. It brings to life the ancient civilisations, the artifacts are great, the audible tour guide was very informative with a large amount of input from sarah Collins. My kids aged 11 and 14 thought it was great. As good as the other exhibitions easily!!! Well done again Melbourne Museum for another awesome day out.

Have just seen the Exhibit and I have to say it was AMAZING!!! I had no idea we had so much in our day to day lives that originated in Mesopotamia, writing, libraries, standardised weights and even floaties!! This was a magnificent exhibit, I particularly loved the way some of the reliefs were animated to show the whole story. In my opinion this was 100% above the quality and presentation of the King Tut exhibit. A truely enjoyable experience. Thank You for bringing it to our shores!!

Hi Bob, The exhibition has timed ticketing. This controls the flow of visitors entering the exhibition and ensures that the exhibition does not become too crowded. If you would enjoy the exhibition more when it is least busy, we suggest that you avoid the popular times - weekends, public holidays, school holidays and the sessions on Thursday evenings.

We went to see the Mesopotamia exhibition and were really impressed with the extensive range of amazing artifacts, the stories of how they were recovered and transported to the British Musuem. The method that Musuem Vic has displayed them provided us with the best effect and detail. I met an Assyrian woman viewing the exhibition with pride and wonder. Well done indeed!

Photography is not allowed within The Wonders of Ancient Mesopotamia exhibition. It is permitted within the Melbourne Museum itself, excepting the Bujilaka Gallery and the Top Designs Gallery.

DizzyLeigh
30 May, 2012 00:54

Hi Queen Hattie, I liked the Tut exhibition, but I also have similar feelings as others that have posted here. I am replying to your comment because I think you are completely wrong when you said "I can only assume those who weren't satisfied with Tut are not that into Ancient Egypt" I have loved everything about Ancient Egypt all my life, so much so that I hope my passion will result in my becoming an archaeologist one day. Your statement is just insulting to the intelligence of those that were 'complaining' as you put it. As I already wrote I did enjoy that exhibition, however I believe it was misleading in many aspects and somewhat disappointing because of that.
TO OTHER POSTERS → As for anyone thinking that those that were disappointed with the Tut exhibition have little to no respect for what it took to put it together, I believe you are mistaken. I personally understand what it takes to put together an exhibition, granted the ones I help with are art exhibitions of about 50 exhibitors (3D art, not wall paintings), but I'm pretty sure I can imagine how difficult one on this scale would be.
Given all that, I hope to find the time to get along to The Wonders of Ancient Mesopotamia exhibition. The difference this time will be that I won't get excited about any promotions for the exhibition and I will factor in looking around the other areas of the museum or the city.

I loved King Tutankhamun and the golden age of rhe pharaohs exhibit it was a dream come for me seeing this once in a life time exhibiton. I saw the exhibition twice because seeing it once was not enough. Im disappointed to see all the negative comment about it. I throught the melbourne museum did an amazing job with the exhibition and it was not misleading in anyway people didnt read about it enough before going but still I dont understand how any could be disappointed. I cant wait to see this exhibit it looks amazing and nothing Ive ever seen before. I do plan on taking my mum and sister to melbourne to see this exhibiton. Ive seen nearly all the exhibitions the museum has held the museum bring the amazing exhibts to Australia Im never disappointed. keep the fantastic work:)

I can't believe all the whingers complaining on this forum. 'it was a great effort to bring the kids and I was disappointed 'etc etc.. Be thankful the British museum is bothering to visit Melbourne as there are hundreds of places that miss out of this experience. Oh and if you're still unsatisfied with the collection you can always fly out to London or the Pergamum museum in Berlin to view the extended collections.

I'm excited to see this exhibition during my stay in Melbourne. I was wondering if anyone could tell me how much time I should put aside to view the exhibition? I like to take my time and see everything thoroughly. Thanks!

Went to See this exhibition last week. I loved it, Taught me a lot about my history as i am Assyrian, some of which i already knew but a lot that i didn't. It was great to see all the artifacts and the details that were in them, It was amazing to walk through and be proud to be Assyrian, it was great that we could take our time and read everything and get to take it all in.
Thank you Melbourne Museum and The British museum, i really enjoyed myself.

I went to see this wonderful exhibition on the Queen's birthday public holiday. I was impressed with the layout, the quality and quantity of the exhibition. The other mediums used - visual and audio really brought it all to life - eg the animated reliefs, which were EXCELLENT! We had allowed an hour and a half to see the exhibit but found it was just over two hours when we came out. I would highly recommend seeing this exhibition and congratulate all involved in putting it together. Very educational. The book is definitely worth the $20 too!

The exhibition was excellent, but avoided controversy, where were the sacred prostitutes of Ishtar? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishtar That might have spiced things up a bit. Also the epic of Gilgamesh is clearly the original text of the story of Noah, but you just can't offend so better leave that out. And no mention of the campaigns against Israel by Assyria and the captivity in Babylon?
The multimedia presentations were excellent however.

The cost of entry to what promises to be a wonderful exhibit is prohibitive. Entry to The British Museum is free of charge--as well it should be.
Importing an exhibit can't be cheap, but the cost to experience and learn shouldn't be such that it prevents large numbers of people from attending.

I've not seen the Exhibit as yet but hoping to do so within a week or two - perhaps during the week when I have time to stop and analyze everything and take some pictures without being knocked over in the crowd lol....Some advice for those coming to see this Exhibit - do some research online or in libraries beforehand and have some prior knowledge of what it actually is you're going to visit! Research the Sumerian & Babylonian Pantheon of gods so that you can make a link between what you've researched and what you're seeing at the Exhibit: ie, characters such as ANU, ENLIL, ENKI & NINHURSAGA - those four deities are EXTREMELY important in Sumerian Culture and if you make the connections closely enough you can see how those four deities have influenced the stories we see in the Old Testament and especially the Tora (Books of Moses from Genesis through to Deuteronomy)...Do some research and the Exhibit will enlighten you further...I can't wait to get in to see it!! :-)

Fantastic exhibition! A wonderful way to spend an afternoon; beautifully displayed, well explained and not too much information- some exhibits can overwhelm but this was just right- loved the reliefs that 'came to life'. Thank you.

The Tut display had some real winners... the heiroglyphic wall info panels, well done! The presence of Yuya and Tjuya was exciting, I guess part of the famous family, and the Tut artifacts were completely stunning. The alabaser canopic urn from Tomb 55 could have been much better labelled. It was really worth visiting by itself, given its story.

I took 50 people to King Tut and only bad thing was maybe not enough time by one person. Rules on buying were tricky a bit. As for display it brought memories of ROM Toronto. I think books were excellent and perhaps Tut has a place in our hearts. Someone a guard said there a three or so other travelling exhibits of Tut. Perhaps the long technical comments were true yet there are many aspects of a culture. Maybe there should be a retrospective or follow up on Tut and what's in Egypt with free follow up talks? Sumerian one looks OK and time to look around too with another group. Not sure about where it fits with Chistians' history but will see. Tut had different view but intriguing one on God(s) a bit varying from his Father.

I really enjoyed the Mesopotamia exhibit. I have gone twice in two weeks now. I found it incredibly moving (It mades me wish I had never given up my dreams of becoming an archaeologist). I was very sad that there was nothing for sale that showed "a lioness and lion in a garden" scene. That was my favorite. I have noticed that there are a number of pieces that show grapes growing in a particular tree. Does anyone know what that tree is? (It is different to the "palm" trees, which are also commonly shown). I can recognise all the other plants in the garden scene with the lions except that one. It is driving me mad trying to find out. Also, I think that immitation seals would have been a major money maker that was missed out on by the shop.

I went today and seen the breath taking artifacts of my fourfathers, it really brought tears to my eyes. I am an Assyrian and have never in my life been able to see any of my ancestors great work up close and personal, though I am an archaeology and ancient history addict.The only disappointment for me was that there was no permission to take picture for anything in the exhibition even with the falsh and the sound off we were not allowed which is very disappointing.I have dreamed all my life to be able to see artifacts of my ancestor's magical work and inventions, and not to be able to have a video to hold on to that amazing experience and go back and watch it is very heartbreaking.

Unfortunately you are unable to take photos in the Mesopotamia exhibition. You are able to throughout the rest of the museum unless sign posted.

Susan
21 July, 2012 10:13

I am a huge fan of Ancient Egypt and went to the Tut exhibit - I have seen it at the Museum in Cairo and will admit to being slightly disappointed but only that we didn't get one of the "big ticket" items. I understand the logistics of transporting something like that over here but it would have been nice. Happy to hear you're doing your own ticketing and really excited to see the Mesopotamia exhibit!! Keep up the great work MV

i am very much look forward to this exebithion i'm 11and i've already been to 1.King Tut exe the title was misleading it didn't have anything to with the exebithion. 2.Harry Potter exe it was amazing.i love history it's inspiring me to become a historian when i'm older.i will be going to this exe and anicent rome also to the napolean.money to lose but exeperieces to win.

i came down from Brisbane and this certainly has been a highlight of my visit to Melbourne (didn't come for the weather) I didn't bother with Egypt -saw it years ago -disappointed. This display was very well worth seeing.

Due to the contractual obligations of the presenting partners, photography is not permitted in the Wonders of Ancient Mesopotamia exhibition area.

Rani
6 August, 2012 20:41

I came to this page looking for information about the new exhibition and honestly I'm appalled by the negative comments about King Tut. I'm from Cairns, QLD and believe me, if any of you lived there for six months you'd be eternally grateful for the opportunity to come face to face with ANY Egyptian artefact museum display whatsoever. The people leaving negative 'I was terribly disappointed'-esque comments sound incredibly, incredibly spoilt. Be grateful that you HAVE a museum, let alone that it consistently puts on its best efforts year after year. You pay $24 for a ticket to a lame movie, it's the same amount for ancient treasures transported across the globe. Cheer up and be grateful for what you have!

Hi Rani, thank you for bringing things into perspective. People in big cities are indeed spoilt. We are very lucky in Melbourne. But I must say this activities are certainly not at reach of everyone, this time around. Still very expensive for a lot of people.

Rose
24 August, 2012 09:48

I took my family to see the Mesopotamia exhibit last night. We had recently studied this period in our homeschool history. We enjoyed the artifacts on display, particularly the entrance into 'Assyria', the Hammurabi stone, the comic strip lion wall and the model of Babylon. I thought that there was a great over emphasis with the cuneiform and seals. While interesting, one section would have been enough for the kids. I was surprised that there wasn't a bit more variety to look at. I would have liked some kid friendly souvenirs. I think that replicas of the cylindrical seals would have sold well.

For anyone considering visiting the Mesopotamia exhibition I advise the following - write down what you know about the area and what you think the exhibition will contain. Last night my husband and I had four items. Today we spent nearly 3 hours at the Melbourne Museum exhibition fascinated by some of the most beautiful things humanity has ever created. Right now we have no doubt we could fill four pages - from the obscure (intricate details of lion hunting) to the mundane (why my watch is separated into 60 minutes). All of it so much more interesting and vibrant than the anachronistic war histories of my Anglo Saxon past. Such a pleasure to read the passionate reviews on this exhibition from the descendants of people from this area. Their pride is justified.

"more interesting and vibrant than the anachronistic war histories of my Anglo Saxon past" Are you kidding me??? I really enjoyed the exhibition but i suggest you missed the fact that most of it was about war and conquest.

Aero Barr
27 August, 2012 10:36

I thought this show was magnificent. The pools of colour throughout were magical – I felt immersed in a different world and a different time. Just beautiful. Not knowing much about this era, I’m now keen to find out more.

I agree, Aero. This was a beautifully curated and imaginative exhibition. Having rooms/spaces belonging to different times was a great way to organize it, as we saw the quality of the artworks, artifacts etc improve in 'artisanship' as we moved towards the present. The artists who executed the relief carvings in Assyria were fabulous craftspeople. The computer imagery used to bring the carved relief stories to life in Assyria was imaginative and stunningly executed. Lions, swimmers, marksmen, musicians, kings - all were there, doing their thing! I can't speak highly enough of this imagery. Go and see it. As to the commentary about each place and time - wonderful. Great continuity, and superb links to the very basis of our culture with writing, the beginnings of the idea of an alphabet etc etc. A fabulous job, Museum! We are so lucky to have you. Keep up the great work.

Samantha
11 September, 2012 21:03

Although the exhibit was very interesting with lots of fascinating content, I don't understand why it didn't go anywhere near the more unusual/controversial Mesopotamian records. No real mention of the content in the Epic of Gilgamesh (being the original flood story). No in-depth information on who and where they said their Gods came from, and why they came here to Earth. Nothing on their incredible knowledge of our solar system (they even knew Neptune {Antu} was a blue/green ice planet!)....So much simply not touched. Most of what we think we know about our history is only accepted theory. Surly it's the responsibility of a museum to present ALL theories and information, rather than just the current accepted paradigm...?? How else will we ever move forward?

Hello Samantha; Thank you for your feedback. The Curator for this exhibition (from the British Museum) developed this particular approach to this exhibition to tell an engaging story (supported by the available British Museum collection objects) to describe certain innovations of Mesopotamian societies and their legacies today. The amazing history of Mesopotamia remains to be told through a multitude of different stories.

Myra
14 September, 2012 18:10

A great exhibition, BUT, I would like a logical explanation re the crazy RULE that I could not have a break others than a quick visit to loo. To really enjoy such a wonderfully large exhib a coffee break at the very least. Explanations given make no sense at all. Rush through and OUT!!!! Please be more reasonable in future. M

Thank you for your feedback regarding your recent visit. We appreciate where you are coming from with your feedback but I would like to address some of the concerns outlined. Firstly, we do have a timed entry system to manage capacity of the exhibition area, but we do not have a timed exit process. Once visitors enter the exhibition, they can stay as long as they like.

The reason why we have a no re –entry policy for Touring Exhibitions is:

As part of our timed ticketing entry process and managing capacity, at any one time, we are committed to delivering a quality experience to visitors where objects and text panels can be easily accessed throughout the exhibition area. By admitting unlimited re-entry this would impact on this commitment and affect following session times and the overall capacity.

We have to maintain and monitor a safe level of capacity for the overall exhibition. As you can appreciate, visitors cannot consume drink or food inside the exhibition area due to the safety of the objects also. We recommend visitors eat and drink before or after their visit

I hope this helps address the reasons for this policy.

A. Mallowan
23 September, 2012 14:57

I visited the Mesopotamia exhibition in May, from Brisbane, and was so impressed I'll be returning before it finishes, specifically to see it again, despite the considerable costs involved, especially for a retired person of limited means....I have been appalled by the negative, carping, tight-fisted comments by many here...

I recenrly visted the Mesopotamia exhibition. I notice that the stone carvings were lit from almost directly above so that the shadow on the stone would help to highlight the carving. To see it in a more natuaral light would have been nice aswell however.

I went and saw this today with some friends and thought it was the best one yet! I liked the "theme" for the exhibition being what have we got thanks to them. I think some people should remember that exhibitions like this are aimed at a wide audience and usually have a theme which means that they sometimes will omit some information. After all, most people can only take in so much. I spent 3 hours in there and I found it facinating, informative and well done!

We will not extending The Wonders of Ancient Mesopotamia exhibition. After it closes on Sunday the 7th of October, the objects will be returning to the British Museum.

Anonymous
2 October, 2012 11:28

Personally, I was very disappointed with the exhibition of Tutankhamen. I felt that although we had access to many amazing artefacts and antiques - that I'm sure had very troublesome aspects of preparation and took a great deal of effort to display - there was barely any actual history to relate it to. The only interesting part for me was the relatively confusing family tree, which was understandably lacking in solid information considering that the Egyptians liked to alter history to suit themselves. We saw room after room of priceless artefacts, such as solid gold coffins for example, but I felt that there was simply nothing to compare with. For all we knew, this could have been in easy access to every Egyptian slave. I think that Melbourne Museum should remember that not all people are historians, although many enjoy history. As a result, I am greatly deterred from visiting the exhibition of Mesopotamia.

Thank you very much to all of the people who have made positive comments and constructive criticisms about 'The Wonders of Ancient Mesopotamia' exhibition on this website. It is very useful to have feedback both for future versions of this exhibition and for other future exhibitions. It has been a great pleasure working with the Melbourne Museum.

Dear Sarah and co
My daughter an I enjoyed the exhibition; the text was coherent and fulfilled the demand to provide information and also appeal to the audience sense of wonder. One or two exhibits needed a little more lighting. The pictorial narratives were explicit and evocative in their presentation. My daughter wore 7 inch heels (she is just 12, and went to be seen; she forgot all about her image for 2 hours and enjoyed telling me all about the Tower of Babel.
Most significantly she expleined to me why the Mesopotamians only used a small ball of clay to produce cuneiforms. The small ball could be carried with them; I missed that vital piece of information. I wondered why they didn't wnat to write on large balls.
My daughter and I also thought that as well as provided the younger viewers an opportunity to envisage the Tower of Babel, they might also enjoy rolling a ball of clay around and learning how to add up sheep and goats. I was thinking that I would probably enjoy doing that too if I was younger. The idea of using a reed to form language signs is pretty interesting.
Maybe at the next exhibition there may be an opportunity for younger viewers to try the cuneiform writing and clay slab forming from balls of clay.
We really enjoyed the food at the cafe; also a nice touch. We missed getting some Lapis Lazuli, which had all sold out.
Little horses are always consumable at exhibitions, especially to little girls; perh[pas some replica horses bronzed etc, or some golden bowls with horses/lions on them a la the friezes; (ie not the ones that depict the Mesopotamian zeal for experiencing human might over animals by sacrificing them)
I think there needed to be some palms about the place; entrance maybe;
Look forward to the next exhibition from Britain, in Melbourne, or in Britain.
Best, ex-Perth Melbournians

Frieze Dried Wobblegong
5 October, 2012 15:08

I travelled from Perth to see the Tut exhibit - unfortunatley been working too much to see the Mesopotamians. I was quite satisfied with Tut. Of course I wanted more than was there, but I'm not prepared to travel to Egypt so ... I'm happy enough with what I got. I guess it was quite expensive for the ordinary family. My only criticism is that I found the end of the exhibit a bit abrubt - you simply step from the burial chamber exhibits, into the Giftshop bazar. It was a bit of a shock (although it was noisy by the end of our tour). I would have liked another gallery to transition through - something about modern archaeology and the work of the Cairo Museum in presrving these "Wonderful things". Overall though, any museum display is a compromise and you cant please everyone.

I drove over from Adelaide yesterday to see this exhibit before it ends tomorrow. It was even better than I imagined, the artifacts chosen and the way the story was told made the whole exhibit very engaging. I didn't mind the cost and thought it was reasonable. While it may be free to see these artifacts in the British museum they are not presented the same way and with the level of detail. I hope the British museum starts displaying their artifacts more like this at home! I spent some time there in January and found the museum to not be very engaging. Well done to Sarah and the Melbourne Museum.

I have been very disappointed...I saw the exhibit in the 70's in Seattle and I was excited to know it was returning,
I even took my granddtr.
The exhibit was totally ugly!
I remember thingsmore grand and somethings gone this time. I know the mask was replaced and the origanal was damaged, so no more travels but really!!!

I am a secondary Humanities teacher. I absolutely love history and am trying foster that same passion in my three boys.
Unfortunately I can not attend the Exhibit because I simple can not afford it. If I were to go it would cost $94 if my entire family were to come. I understand you need to recoup cost and these things are not cheap to out on but can you please consider the prices the next time you have a temporary exhibit. It is disappointing for me that my kids, who have inquiring minds, will not be able to see the exhibit. This was also the case for the Ancient Egyptian exhibit as well.

An awesome exhibition. However, there was no curator. Not one person to ask questions to about the exhibit. I ended up explaining parts of the exhibit to a couple of security personal (who I had asked about a curator) and about 10 other people who listened in on the conversation. Why was there no curator at this very important exhibition????

Hi Joanne, glad to hear that you liked the exhibition and that you were able to help some of the visitors. Ideally we would have curatorial expertise on all the exhibitions that the museum hosts but that is not always the case. For example, the Bond Exhibition and Mesopotamia were both sourced from other museums and the Melbourne Museum was just the host venue. In exhibitions where we do have curatorial expertise, apart from programmed talks curators are not usually based in the exhibitions.

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